What a pass.
What a cross.
What a header.
Get this one on repeat this morning!
Explicit language warning in the build-up.
#UpTheBucks 
Get this one on repeat this morning!
Explicit language warning in the build-up.
#UpTheBucks Thursday, 4 August 2022
Ashton & Backwell United 1 Buckland Athletic 2
From the North Somerset Times:
Ashton & Backwell beaten by Buckland Athletic in league opener
Published: 9:00 AM August 4, 2022
Miles Hardidge scored and hit the crossbar for Ashton & Backwell against Buckland Athletic - Credit: Mike West/Backwell Camera Club
Ashton & Backwell fell to a 2-1 home defeat against Buckland Athletic on the first day of the new Toolstation Western League Premier Division season.
The Stags looked lively for the first 15 minutes, with Miles Hardidge heading over from an early free-kick.
But the visitors weathered the storm and took the lead when a long ball found Webster to slot past Coombes.
A sloppy challenge by Hedges led to a penalty two minutes later, but Coombes dived to his right to put the spot-kick behind.
The reprieve was brief, though, as Bush fired a second Buckland goal on 23 minutes.
Bush also hit the crossbar before Hardidge halved the deficit on 42 minutes, thumping home from a Charlie Saunders cross.
And the hosts dominated possession in the second half, with Coombes a mere spectator.
Hardidge headed against the crossbar and had a shot saved, while Sam Price shot over from close range.
Worthing 5 Wycombe Wanderers 1
From the Worthing FC website:
Home fans don’t normally celebrate a five-one thrashing for the Reds but in this case it was Wycombe Wanderers who were on the wrong end of this pre-season outcome.
As preparations gather pace for Saturday’s opening National League South fixture against Dover Athletic, Tuesday night’s final friendly saw Cam Tutt, Lewis White and Mo Jammeh all return to the starting line-up. There were also ten outfield subs and more that weren’t even on the bench !
The visitors included a certain Jasper Pattenden alongside full internationals Tjay Debarr of Gibraltar and Iraq’s Ali Al-Hamadi. Emphasising just how seriously the League One promotion hopefuls were taking the game, First Team Manager Gareth Ainsworth was running his eye over proceedings from the Director’s Box.
Although he might not have been too happy with his team’s start, when play switched to James Beresford out on the left and his subsequent delivery into Kane Wills led to a defensive deflection and a one-handed tip over the top by goalkeeper Josh Blunkell, after only three minutes.
In fact Worthing dominated the early stages and soon stamped their authority on the match by going in front a further five later.
This time Wills, on the left, found Joel Colbran on the right and his short pass to Jake Robinson was sent into the penalty area, where Jammeh squeezed it inside the far post via the deftest of touches.
However, the hosts went to sleep at the back to present Wanderers with an immediate riposte within the following sixty seconds.
Harrison Male gifted possession to D’Mani Mellor but his backheel ended up in the side netting.
That proved to be nothing more than a minor blip though as Robinson chipped a cross to Ollie Pearce at the rear upright, with Ollie doing what he does best and heading his side further in front, despite the best efforts of ‘keeper Blunkell.
All this took place in the opening eleven minutes but it would be Male who was called into action next, when the impressive Jack Young forced ‘H’ to dive to his right to parry a long-range free-kick. Colbran blocking number two’s (trialist’s) follow-up behind for a flag-kick.
The Chairboys worked their way into the contest and after a weak back pass put Male under pressure, although he kept out Mellor there was nothing he could do to stop Al-Hamadi from tapping into an empty net.
Woodside’s finest soon put the disappointment behind them though thanks to a little bit of role reversal; Jammeh finding Robinson who set up Pearce in identical fashion to his earlier assist, by once again picking out Ollie at the back stick to nod in his second of the evening and the home team’s third.
Four minutes later and, appropriately, the score became four.
White taking Colbran’s inch-perfect set-piece delivery in his stride before bursting forward and calmly beating Blunkell with a calm, clinical finish.
Our trialist friend then returned to have the penultimate say of the first-half, as the Swan’s #2 fired a twenty-yarder wide of the target.
The very last murmurings came through Robinson, looking to add a goal to his pair of assists only to be denied by the hands of Blunkell.
Chances were in shorter supply after the break with the first falling to the League One leaders and it needed a late intervention by a sliding Tutt to prevent Al-Hamadi doubling his tally, following a pass into the eighteen yard box from the returning Pattenden.
Undeterred, Jasper pulled off a similar set-up barely two minutes later but an incoming De Barr could only direct his low fizzer straight into the gloves of a grateful Male at the far stick.
Changes aplenty occurred around the hour mark, Boss Adam Hinshelwood bringing the remaining nine replacements on after Reece Myles-Meekums had been introduced for Jammeh.
Rather than disrupting the flow though, two of them combined when Nodirbek Bobomurodov struck for the third game running, after latching onto Joe Rye’s long ball down the right flank, dumping Captain Jack Wakely on his derriere and coolly slotting beyond the equally well-beaten Blunkell.
Connor Parsons passed up the opportunity to pull one back by blasting the wrong side of the apparatus, near the edge of the penalty box, before the unnamed eight came even closer when a terrific driving run to the byline concluded with a dangerously-close delivery whipped right across the face of goal, merely resulting in a goal-kick.
The same player then jet-propelled himself towards the rear upright; pre-emanating an identical outcome, as he stretched in an attempt to convert another right wing Pattenden cross in the very last minute of a truly absorbing affair.
Meaning that at least one long-haired Gareth went home happy.
The Western League is already well underway
Buckland Athletic have started their season well with two wins out of two.
Results from last weekend
These are the results that I found from the BBC Sport website, club websites, club twitter accounts and opposition twitter accounts. If only things were easy ..... but then I would not enjoy doing this. Research is what I enjoy most. Hide the facts people, it makes things I find worth while.
CORRECTION: The Ashton & Backwell result was a 2-1 win to Buckland Athletic.
SECOND CORRECTION: Torquay United beat Truro City 3-1 as that match actually took place.
Friday, 29 July 2022
Thursday, 28 July 2022
The start of the football season
Tiverton Town have their final pre season fixture on Saturday at home to Merthyr Town.
Exmouth Town have their final friendly against Okehampton Argyle, also on Saturday.
The Western League kick off this weekend and my pick Buckland Athletic are:
ASHTON & BACKWELL UNITED (away)
Bovey Tracey and Liverton United do not have a fixture showing for 30th July.
Wednesday, 27 July 2022
It all kicks off
Football starts this weekend, at least in the Football League and National League. Other teams are still playing friendlies so what can we look forward to with my selections?
Bristol City are away to Hull City in the Championship.
Exeter City are away to Lincoln City in League One.
Swindon Town are away to Harrogate Town in League Two.
That reminds me of my theory that cities are in League One and Towns are in League Two.
In the National League Torquay United are away to Truro City.
The Premier League teams are both playing their last friendly matches against Spanish opposition.
Brentford are at home to Real Betis.
Arsenal are at home to Sevilla although there is an Emirates CUP at stake in that match.
New to the National League South Worthing have a friendly on Friday against Bognor and they have another friendly on Tuesday at home to Wycombe Wanderers. I shall be keeping a sharp eye on them.
Level 7 onwards I shall save until tomorrow.
Monday, 25 July 2022
All Change for the NEW SEASON
I decided that the women's game is not mature enough yet to match up the teams with the men's leagues so as there is still too little information about the women's leagues and with the men about to start I had to make a quick decision although I am not so rigid these days that I cannot change in August or September.
I will keep watching my favourite Arsenal boys who may get a mention but I will continue at least for this season with Brentford as my Premier League pick. My Championship picks seem to get promoted these days so I have gone with Bristol City as I have been following the ladies for a while now.
Exeter just got promoted to League One and I had a lot of thought before deciding to keep my local city in my selection list. I could have kept Cheltenham and matched them with the women, or Oxford, Plymouth and I think Ipswich matched up but they are the other side of the country. Anyway with the decision not to tie the women in Exeter established themselves in my thinking.
Scanning League two I found no teams in the South West so the nearest team is Swindon Town. There is a lot to learn about them but at least I visited the speedway track way back and bought a strong pair of shoes at the market outside the ground. Memories to build on.
The National League is still up for grabs but I have put Torquay in place until another candidate proves better. I was going to go again with Bath City in the National League South but the team denied promotion twice because of COVID have got my vote for this season and I will be following Worthing.
I kind of want to change Tiverton in the Southern League but they remain the only obvious choice. The new boys in the Southern League One South are Exmouth Town and I have become an armchair fan of the boys.
Buckland Athletic return to my attention as the Western League Premier pick. Bovey Tracey stay as my South West Peninsula League pick and Liverton United remain the Devon League pick albeit in the other half of the Devon League.
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